Why new Gold is confiscateble

It was mentioned that 1917 gold sovereigns are hard to come by due to government actions. Are there any other coins that have become rare in a similar fashion? The only other one I can think of is the famed 1933 double eagle (which btw is a stunning coin to see in person, if you ever get the chance)

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

1964 Peace Dollar, 1974 Aluminum cent, 1878CC Trade Dollar

I'm sure there are others, but this is what I came up with off the top of my head; each of these had a large portion of their mintages melted down (in the case of the first 2 nearly all were melted).

 

This brings up an interesting point. The government signs a law and the puplic reacts to the law by spreading the facts about the law. Somewhere along the way the truth gets distorted and people start hoarding gold coins which gets them into deep trouble. So instead of the law doing its job it actually fuels the lawbreakers and creates panic when the some people are arrested and the ones not breaking laws corner the markets. Am I making sense?

 

None what so ever!

 

Poppycock. One didn't have to register it prior to it being confiscated the last time. When gold is again declared illegal to be held, it is not likely agents will search through every house and go through your back yard with medal detectors to find your hidden stash. You might hide any reasonable amount of gold for decades. It is when the time comes to sell that you will find a problem. You might get lucky and sell to another who is not willing to let the government dictate what metals they can and cannot hold, or you may find someone who will report you to curry favor, or report you out of spite, or just because they are jealous that you own gold and want you to go to jail.

 

EagleEyed,

Good point. It is probably a bad trade-off to go to prison over a coin. Holding illegal and non-liquid assets is probably inferior to finding a new hobby.

 

Maybe. But if someone takes a stand against government tyranny, I can understand that, too.

 

hello everyone,


I'm here to confinscate your gold... please drop it in the box on your way out the door.

Doug - I'm looking in your direction... All those tasty ducats!

 

Makes me feel glad I like wheat cents.

 

Maybe I can copper-plate my AGEs !

 

Only the London Mint 1917 sovereigns, The Australian mints are common.

I think the US field has been covered by another poster, but a few Brit coins i can think of are 1945 silver threepences, Henry III Gold Twenty Pences and Edward III Gold Florins, of the latter two survival rates might be in single figures or upto about 12.

 

That is very true, there will always be somebody willing to rat you out. How ever I still believe most who do hide their gold will be able to sell later with little fear, because the amount of money needed to enforce a law like that will be enormous, and if a government is confiscating gold it usually means they are already having money troubles.

 

Gold?!? No, that's not gold, it's brass.

Hey, if a lot of Americans still think the Sacagaweas are real gold, I'll just turn the tables on them and convince them that my gold coins are really brass.

 

Or keep a pile of Sacs around for when Big Brother comes to collect gold. Maybe put them in some of those slab-type holders with a printed card "certifying" they're genuine gold !

 

That would "damage" them. But maybe if you wrapped them in copper foil.....

 

Or hid them in hollowed out SBAs ... who's going to think they're gold ?

 

Well, now that I think about it; you can figure this; If the govenment is in that bad of shape, then I dont think we will have to worry about them enforcing much afterwards.

I think Immah hold out until the government makes the 24 karat eagles.

 

just dont remove the foil after you put it on.... wouldnt want to clean the coin.....


lol

 

Private gold ownership WAS outlawed in 1933, by (Executive Order 6102.). Read this:

I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do declare that said national emergency still continues to exist and pursuant to said section to do hereby prohibit the hoarding gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States by individuals, partnerships, associations and corporations and hereby prescribe the following regulations for carrying out the purposes of the order:

Section 1. For the purpose of this regulation, the term 'hoarding" means the withdrawal and withholding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates from the recognized and customary channels of trade. The term "person" means any individual, partnership, association or corporation.

Section 2. All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to a Federal Reserve bank or a branch or agency thereof or to any member bank of the Federal Reserve System all gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates now owned by them or coming into their ownership on or before April 28, 1933, except the following:

(a) Such amount of gold as may be required for legitimate and customary use in industry, profession or art within a reasonable time, including gold prior to refining and stocks of gold in reasonable amounts for the usual trade requirements of owners mining and refining such gold.

(b) Gold coin and gold certificates in an amount not exceeding in the aggregate $100.00 belonging to any one person; and gold coins having recognized special value to collectors of rare and unusual coins.

(c) Gold coin and bullion earmarked or held in trust for a recognized foreign government or foreign central bank or the Bank for International Settlements.

(d) Gold coin and bullion licensed for the other proper transactions (not involving hoarding) including gold coin and gold bullion imported for the re-export or held pending action on applications for export license.

Section 3. Until otherwise ordered any person becoming the owner of any gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates after April 28, 1933, shall within three days after receipt thereof, deliver the same in the manner prescribed in Section 2; unless such gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates are held for any of the purposes specified in paragraphs (a),(b) or (c) of Section 2; or unless such gold coin, gold bullion is held for purposes specified in paragraph (d) of Section 2 and the person holding it is, with respect to such gold coin or bullion, a licensee or applicant for license pending action thereon.

Section 4. Upon receipt of gold coin, gold bullion, or gold certificates delivered to it in accordance with Section 2 or 3, the Federal reserve bank or member bank will pay thereof an equivalent amount of any other form of coin or currency coined or issued under the laws of the Unites States.

Section 5. Member banks shall deliver alt gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates owned or received by them (other than as exempted under the provisions of Section 2) to the Federal reserve banks of there respective districts and receive credit or payment thereof.

Section 6. The Secretary of the Treasury, out of the sum made available to the President by Section 501 of the Act of March 9, 1933, will in all proper cases pay the reasonable costs of transportation of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates delivered to a member bank or Federal reserve bank in accordance with Sections 2, 3, or 5 hereof, including the cost of insurance, protection, and such other incidental costs as may be necessary, upon production of satisfactory evidence of such costs. Voucher forms for this purpose may be procured from Federal reserve banks.

Section 7. In cases where the delivery of gold coin, gold bullion, or gold certificates by the owners thereof within the time set forth above will involve extraordinary hardship or difficulty, the Secretary of the Treasury may, in his discretion, extend the time within which such delivery must be made. Applications for such extensions must be made in writing under oath; addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury and filed with a Federal reserve bank. Each applications must state the date to which the extension is desired, the amount and location of the gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates in respect of which such application is made and the facts showing extension to be necessary to avoid extraordinary hardship or difficulty.

Section 8. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and empowered to issue such further regulations as he may deem necessary to carry the purposes of this order and to issue licenses there under, through such officers or agencies as he may designate, including licenses permitting the Federal reserve banks and member banks of the Federal Reserve System, in return for an equivalent amount of other coin, currency or credit, to deliver, earmark or hold in trust gold coin or bullion to or for persons showing the need for same for any of the purposes specified in paragraphs (a), (c), and (d) of Section 2 of these regulations.

Section 9. Whoever willfully violates any provision of this Executive Order or these regulation or of any rule, regulation or license issued there under may be fined not more than $10,000, or,if a natural person may be imprisoned for not more than ten years or both; and any officer, director, or agent of any corporation who knowingly participates in any such violation may be punished by a like fine, imprisonment, or both.

This order and these regulations may be modified or revoked at any time.
/s/
Franklin D. Roosevelt
President of the United States of America
April 5, 1933

 

$100 back then was five months' wages.

The massive loophole for numismatic gold allowed everything before 1933. The one exception -- from an order following this -- was a detailed description forbidding the hoarding of quarter eagles.

Yes, it was wrong. Yes, it was typical of a government that placed "social needs" (however defined) above individual rights. But no, it was not the end of the world and even after this decree, people still bought and sold gold coins openly and legally, benchmarking their prices publicly against the London Spot Price for Gold. So, no, the reality of this law is that all it did was move gold from the banks to the federal reserve in order to shore up the American dollar on the international market.

Again, yes, it was wrong. The more salient question is: What would you have done about it? The historical answer is: Nothing. People went about their lives just as before. For the average person, gold was never illegal -- and again, gold coins were bought and sold openly with their prices pegged to London bullion.